Yes. There was a lot of Chinese investment in the film itself. We opened withJojo Rabbit– we’re bringing in a lot of the prestige films from this time of year.
DEADLINE: In the time you’ve been running the festival, Chinese cinema has continued to grow exponentially.China has been developing in the last 10-20 years, building its own cinema infrastructure and production industry in a spectacular way. This year, we’ve expanded our New Chinese Cinema Competition, with a jury headed by Cristian Mungiu, one of the greatest directors in the West, and we’re giving out five awards – last year that program had six films, this year it’s eight.
DEADLINE: The festival has several different pillars: the international program, the Chinese program, and the industry side. How are you balancing those and what are the priorities?We set out to do a number of different things. Macao is a trading gateway into China, and that’s how we see ourselves, a place where people can come and interact with the Chinese industry, as well as our burgeoning Macao industry. And then the Chinese can come here and meet the foreign industry.
You can’t go in and expect to be Cannes in year one, that’s not going to happen. You have to dig in, get into the trenches, and work your ass off for a few years to show people that you’re here to stay. I’ve tried to impress on my partners and colleagues in Macao that we have to put the programming work in. We’re not just about red carpet, we’re passionate about cinema and dedicated to helping cultivate the industry here. It’ll take a few more years yet.
December is a big month for Macao, it’s the 20th anniversary of the handover from Portugal to China, and the new chief executive of the city will be appointed. All sorts of local stuff is going on here that’s very significant.For me, when I hear the word ‘Macao’, I think of a mysterious, glamorous place. There’s an old-style glamour about it, full of intrigue and mystery. A lot of people are drawn to find out about Macao. I don’t think it’s over-exposed on a global level.